Posted on 01/31/2005 10:08:37 AM PST by gotmatt
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq (news - web sites)'s interim leader called on his countrymen to set aside their differences Monday, while polling stations finished the first-phase count of millions of ballots from the weekend election that many Iraqis hope will usher in democracy and hasten the departure of 150,000 American troops.
From the counts by individual stations, local centers will prepare tally sheets and send them to Baghdad, where vote totals will be compiled, election Commission official Adel al-Lami said. Final results could take up to 10 days.
With turnout in the vote still unknown, concern was focused on participation by Iraq's Sunni Arab minority, amid fears that the group that drives the insurgency could grow ever more alienated. Electoral commission officials said turnout in hardline Sunni areas was better than some expected, thought they cited no numbers. A U.S. diplomat warned that Sunni participation appeared "considerably lower" than that of other groups.
Meanwhile, guerrillas claimed to have shot down a British military C-130 Hercules transport plane that crashed north of Baghdad just after polls closed Sunday. Al-Jazeera aired an insurgent video showing a missile being fire and flaming wreckage purported to be that of the plane. No missile impact was shown, and the footage's authenticy could not be confirmed.
All 10 military personnel on the flight were missing and presumed dead — which would be Britain's heaviest single loss of life of the war — Defense Secretary Geoff Hoon said.
The video came from the "Green Brigade," a previously unknown arm of the the National Islamic Resistance in Iraq. Another group, Ansar al-Islam, issued a competing claim of responsibility. The British government would not comment on the insurgents' claims, saying the cause of the crash was still being investigated.
In his first news conference since the elections, Iraqi interim Prime Minister Ayad Allawi called on Iraqis to join together to build a society shattered by decades of war, tyranny, economic sanctions and military occupation.
"The terrorists now know that they cannot win," he said. "We are entering a new era of our history and all Iraqis — whether they voted or not — should stand side by side to build their future." He promised to work to ensure that "the voice of all Iraqis is present in the coming government."
In new violence, three U.S. Marines were killed in fighting south of Baghdad on Monday, after two Marines were killed on election day. At least 44 people were killed in violence Sunday, when there were nine suicide attacks, most near polling sites in Baghdad.
The country was already focusing on goals almost as challenging as the election itself: forming a new governing coalition once the vote is known, then writing a constitution and winning trust.
The main Shiite clerical-backed faction in the race was already claiming a strong showing in the election. Officials of the United Iraqi Alliance said they expected to win at least 45 percent — and maybe even a slim outright majority — of seats in the 275-member National Assembly. Local officials of the parties within the alliance said the list swept some southern cities, winning 90 percent of the votes in Najaf and 80 percent in Basra.
The claims could not be confirmed, and the Alliance had been expected to run strong in the Shiite heartland. Going into the vote, the list headed by Allawi was also considered a main contender.
A powerful showing for the Alliance, which was endorsed by the Shiite Grand Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, could make Sunnis even more reluctant to accept the results of the election — particularly if Sunni participation turns out to have been low.
Although turnout figures were unavailable, a U.S. diplomat briefing reporters on condition of anonymity said "good anecdotal information" indicated that "Sunni participation was considerably lower than participation by the other groups, especially in areas which have seen a great deal of violence."
In the heavily Sunni town of Tikrit, Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s hometown, 48-year-old history teacher Qais Youssif said no member of his family had voted.
"The so-called elections were held in the way that America and the occupation forces wanted," Youssif said. "They want to marginalize the role of the Sunnis. They and the media talk about the Sunnis as a minority. I do not think they are a minority."
The Iraqi Islamic Party, a leading Sunni faction, feels the vote was not inclusive "because an important segment of the Sunni Muslim community didn't take part," said party official Naser Ayef al-Ani. Large, heavily Sunni sections of the country were unable to cast ballots, and in some places lack of security forced polling places to open late or not at all, officials said.
In neighboring Jordan, King Abdullah said in an interview with CNN on Monday that Sunni participation was "a lot lower than any of us hoped."
On Sunday, the electoral commission said it believed that turnout overall among the estimated 14 million eligible Iraqi voters appeared higher than the 57 percent, or roughly 8 million, that had been predicted before the vote. Organizers said 93 percent of the 280,000 Iraqis who registered abroad turned out to vote.
Not even the country's frequent power outages could stop the count. In the Shiite holy city of Najaf, election workers began their task crouched on the ground, counting ballots by the glow of oil lamps.
After an election ban on most daytime driving, cars again wove their way down Baghdad's streets Monday. The city was relatively calm at midmorning after a day of thundering mortar shelling and gunfire.
"Now I feel that Saddam is really gone," said Fatima Ibrahim, smiling as she headed home after voting in Irbil, in the Kurdish northern region. She was 14 and a bride of just three months when her husband, father and brother were rounded up in a campaign of ethnic cleansing under Saddam. None have ever been found.
It was still unclear if the successful vote would deal a significant blow to the insurgents or lead to a short-term rise in violence. The militants might need time to regroup after the spate of attacks they launched in the weeks before the vote.
The election was hailed as a success around the globe, with President Bush (news - web sites) declaring: "The world is hearing the voice of freedom from the center of the Middle East."
The top opponents to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq had praise for the vote, though with reservations. French President Jacques Chirac phoned Bush and said he was satisfied by Iraqi participation in the vote and said "the strategy of terrorist groups has partly failed."
Russian President Vladimir Putin (news - web sites) called the election "undoubtedly a step toward democratization of the country."
But his Foreign Ministry expressed regret over the low Sunni turnout, echoing worries expressed by several world leaders. It warned of difficulties "if other political forces feel removed from state affairs."
Iraq's 275-member National Assembly, elected for an 11-month term, will draft a permanent constitution, and if the document is approved, Iraqis will vote for a permanent government in December. If the document is rejected, Iraqis will repeat the whole process again.
Once results are in, it could take weeks of backroom deals before a prime minister and government are picked by the new assembly. If that government can draw in the minority Sunni Arabs who partly shunned the election, the country could stabilize, hastening the day when 150,000 U.S. troops can go home.
Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid called on Bush to outline an exit strategy for Iraq.
Iraq's interior minister, Falah al-Naqib, told Britain's Channel 4 News he expected there would be no need for U.S. troops any longer than 18 months because that's when he anticipates Iraq's security forces will be trained well enough to handle the job.
But Allawi said recently that it was premature to know when Iraqi troops would be ready.
Although turnout figures were unavailable
and then he refuses to admit saying sunni turnout wasn't as low as he thinks by saying this bs line. instead of saying "some say voter turn out is low, although these sources are unofficial and probably biased" he says it like it's fact!!! bad bad BAD journalism.
especially the women.
Funny thing now is that we rely on getting information from the very kind of people that no one wants to even talk to.
The kind of people that some would rather tell a 'tale' to, just to get them to go away.
The kind that many know they can tell the biggest lie in the world to, and their eager listener never questions.
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